Piedmont Triad International Airport officials may be able to purchase homes near the airport in the near future as part of an overall plan to address the impact of future aircraft noise.

Airport officials also are pursuing the purchase of equipment to set up an aircraft noise monitoring program. The moves stem from an airport noise mitigation plan developed to address the expected impact of aircraft noise from late-night and early-morning flights related to the FedEx Corp. national cargo hub.

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The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority has applied to the Federal Aviation Administration for a land purchase grant to buy 11 residential properties in western Greensboro and Guilford County closest to PTIA. The airports governing board also has applied to the FAA for a grant to purchase the noise monitoring equipment.

The FAA would provide a 95 percent match on the expense of the aircraft noise mitigation measures, said PTIA Executive Director Kevin Baker. Airport officials still are determining a price tag for the land purchases and noise monitoring equipment.

Were just getting to a point where that will all be quantified, Baker told The High Point Enterprise.

The airport is seeking appraisals of the land to be purchased and bids from vendors for noise monitoring equipment, he said. The equipment will consist of portable units that can record aircraft noise readings from different locations around PTIA.

On the land purchases, once the appraisals are complete and the FAA funding secured, the airport could proceed quickly to buy homes, Baker said.

Were going to be doing this over the next three to six months, he said.

The airport wont require landowners to sell. Instead, the airport will make offers based on the appraisals, and the property owner then decides whether to sell the land, said Mickie Elmore, PTIA director of development.

The next phase of the noise mitigation plan will involve a sound insulation program for other homes near the airport that arent close enough to qualify for a buyout. The sound insulation program will start once the home purchase program is complete, Elmore said.

The sound insulation program will be conducted in phases as FAA grant money becomes available, Elmore said.

This article appeared in Monday's edition of the High Point Enterprise.